Luiz Henrique earns Ancelotti’s praise with Brazil: “Changed the game” | OneFootball

Luiz Henrique took important steps toward being called up for the next World Cup. The forward was brought on by Ancelotti in the second half of the 3-0 victory over Chile this Thursday at Maracanã, when the match was still 1-0, and he was responsible for paving the way for a more comfortable result.

Luiz Henrique was involved in both the second and third goals for Brazil against Chile. First, with an individual play, he took the ball to the end line and crossed it onto Lucas Paquetá’s head to find the back of the net; then, he recovered the ball after a poor clearance from the Chilean defense, exchanged passes with Bruno Guimarães, and took a shot that hit the post before the ball rebounded to Newcastle’s midfielder, who slotted it home.

“Luiz Henrique has extraordinary talent in this regard, very strong physically, fantastic in one-on-one situations. He changed the game, he was physically fresh. A player of this talent, when he’s fresh and the opponents are tired, changes the game. It’s very good for the national team to have this kind of player,” commented Ancelotti.

The call-up drew attention because Luiz Henrique is currently at Zenit, in Russia. Due to the war in Ukraine, Russian clubs have been banned from European competitions and have been limited to facing only domestic opponents in recent years.

Brought on in the second half this Thursday, Luiz Henrique wasted no time in trying to prove to Ancelotti that he deserves to be among those called up for the 2026 World Cup.

“I thought I had to be the Luiz Henrique who left Petrópolis, the one who played with my friends, light, free. When I was at the hotel, I knelt before the team talk and asked God that I could be the Luiz Henrique from Vale do Carambola, that I could play happily, help my teammates, and also play for my family who were here at Maracanã supporting me. Thank God everything worked out, we have to keep this attitude, this desire. And that’s it. I just wanted to be the Luiz Henrique from Vale do Carambola, who played with joy, I never want to lose the joy of playing football,” said the player.

There are seven games left for Brazil before the World Cup. There will still be other opportunities for Ancelotti to assess players and build the core of the squad that will aim for a sixth title in 2026, but undeniably Luiz Henrique made a strong case for himself with his performance this Thursday.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.